Islam

monotheistic religion founded by Muhammad and based on the teachings of the Quran

Islam (Arabic: الإسلام‎, Al-Islam (Submission)) is a monotheisticreligion that was founded in the 7th century CE by Muhammad.[1] All of its teachings and beliefs are written out in the Quran (also spelled Qur'an or Koran), the holy scripture of Islam. Believers of Islam are called Muslims. They believe that the Quran was spoken to Muhammad by the angel Jibril, and that it is the word of Allah. They view Muhammad as a messenger. Other beliefs and rules about what Muslims should do come from reports of what Muhammad taught, or hadith.

Muslims believe that there were many other prophets before Muhammad since dawn of humanity, beginning with the Prophet Adam and including the Prophet Noah (Nuh), the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim), the Prophet Moses (Musa), and the Prophet Jesus (Isa). They believe that all these prophets were given messages by God of the oneness of God to their communities at different times in history of mankind, but Satan (referred to as 'Shaytan' in Arabic) made the past communities deviate from the message of oneness and other social codes. Muslims believe that the content of the Quran (written in Arabic) is protected by Allah as mentioned in the Quran and is the final message of God for all of mankind until the day of judgment.

Most Muslims belong to one of two groups. The most common is Sunni Islam (71–80% of all Muslims are Sunni Muslims). The second is Shia Islam (10–20% of all Muslims are Shias – also called Shiites). But there are many more groups like the Alevis in Turkey.

With about 1.75 billion followers (23% of the world's population), Islam is the second-largest religion in the world. Islam is also the fastest-growing religion in the world.

The country in the world where the most people are Muslim is Indonesia.[2]

According to Islamic tradition, there are five basic things that Muslims should do. They are called "The Five Pillars of Islam":

Tawheed: The Testimony (faith in English) is the core of the Muslim belief that there is no god but Allah himself, and that Muhammad is his last messenger.

Salaat: Muslims pray five times per day, at special times of the day. When they pray, they face Kaaba, a large cubic structure located at the holy city of Mecca. Salat is namaz in Persian, Turkish and Urdu. Shia Muslims can pray the afternoon and evening prayers right after each other.[3]

Zakaat: Muslims who have money must give a percentage of the money which it's still with them for a year 1/40th of their money (charity in English) to help people who do not have money or need help.

Sawm or Siyam: Fasting during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic year. Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn till sunset for one lunar month. After Ramadan, there is a holiday called Eid al-Fitr (which means "festival of end-fast" in English). On Eid al-Fitr, Muslims usually go to the mosque in the morning for a special religious service, and then have a party with families and friends.

Hajj (Pilgrimage in English): During the month of Zulhejja, the 12th month of the Islamic Calendar is the pilgrimage season where many Muslims go to Mecca, the holiest city of Islam. However, should a Muslim is financially unable to perform the Hajj, he or she is unnecessary to do so, as those who possess great financial capacity were the most obligated to perform the Hajj.

In Islamic belief, the Quran is the holy book of Islam and contained to words of Allah and is conveyed to the Prophet Muhammad by the archangel Jibraeel, who had been tasked since Adam as the conveyor of the words of God as guidance to mankind. The Quran is the central point of reference and is a link which connects humanity with God.

The Qur'an contains many passages and chapters which covers the entire aspect of humanity, down to the most minute detail. From the creation and conception of human child to the details of the Earth and beyond. In the aspect of human life it contains stories and tales of old civilizations and past prophets and their life chronicles. The Quran also contains the Syaria' law or hudud, and emphasizes the equal rights man and women alike with mothers given special status where it is sinful to even glare to them.

The Qur'an has a total of 30 juzuks. In each juzuk, contains many surahs or verses, with 114 surahs which begins with Surah al-Fatehah(The Beginning) and ended with Surah an-Naas(Humanity). A Hafeez is a Muslim who have commit the Quran to memory and can accurately recite every word in the Quran without flipping a single page an apply them to daily life.

Other important teachings in Islam are the Sunnah (which tell about Muhammad's life) and the Hadith (which are collections of dialogs of conversation that Muslims believe Muhammad said).

The Qur'an is considered in Islam as a manual to all of humanity and its teachings are to be implemented and shared by its readers.

Muslims pray in a place of worship called the mosque. A mosque is called a masjid in Arabic. Most mosques were mostly recognized having at least a single dome, and some have one or more towers. However many mosques were built without either domes or towers.

Muslims take their shoes off before entering the masjid to pray. Prayer is one of the most important things that a Muslim does.

The Muslim is called to prayer or solah five times a day. This call to prayer is called Adhan. The muezzin, a man chosen to make the call to prayer, uses a loudspeaker, which carries his voice to the people nearby. The call to prayer is often done out loud, in public, in Muslim countries. Being called to solah is a normal part of daily life for most people in Muslim countries.

A prayer mat

Muslims pray on a mat, which is called a prayer mat or prayer rug in English. Common Arabic names[4] for the prayer mat include sajjāda and namazlık.

When it is time to pray, Muslims face the direction of Qibla - the direction they are supposed to pray in, towards Mecca. They then roll out their prayer mat, and perform their prayers to God.

In 2009, a study was done in 232 countries and territories.[5] This study found that 23% of the global population or 1.57 billion people are Muslims. Of those, between 75% and 90% are Sunni[6][7] and between ten and twenty five percent are Shi'a.[5][6][8] A small part belong to other Islamic sects. In about fifty countries, more than half of the people are Muslim.[9]Arabs account for around twenty percent of all Muslims worldwide. Islam has three holy sites; Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina.

Like with other religions, over time different movements have developed in Islam. These movements are based on different interpretations of the scriptures. The following sections list the most common movements.

The Muwahidin or Muwahid Muslims are a Muslim restoration movement that accepts mainstream Islam, but prefer to orient themselves towards a primacy of God's commands on issues pertaining to sharia law. Muwahidists believe that modern Islam has been mixed with many cultural traditions and they want to change that.

The Shi'ites believe that just as only God can appoint a prophet, he can appoint a second leader after the prophet. Shi'a Muslims believe that God chose Ali as the leader after Muhammad. About 10-20% of Muslims are Shi'a which means that there are about 120 million world wide. Shi'a Muslims form the majority of Muslims in Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, and Lebanon. The largest adhab in Yemen is Zaydi Shia. Shias commonly gather for Day of Ashura in Karbala. They accept four hadiths.

Sunnism considers Abu Bakr to be the successor of Muhammad. Sunnis make up roughly 75% of Muslims.[7][20] Sunnis believe that leaders of Islam should be chosen by the people of the Muslim world. After Abu Bakr died, Omar took his place, then Uthman, and then Ali. All of them were companions of Muhammad and lived in Medina. Sunni beliefs are typically based on the Qur'an and the Kutub al-Sittah (six hadiths). Sunnis are sometimes called Bukharists.

The Sufi are a branch in Islam that focuses more on the spiritual and mystic elements of Islam. Sufis usually conclude their prayers with dhikr recitations.

The Quraniyoon generally reject the authority of the hadiths. Such Muslims, also known as Quranists and Ahle Quran, believe that the Quran is the only source of guidance. They say the hadiths are not endorsed by the Quran, and some call them an innovative bid'ah.

Ibadis are Muslims who originated from the Kharijites. Ibadis today have reformed beliefs from original Kharijites.

Ahmadiyyas are Muslims who follow Mirza Ghulam Ahmed whom they consider to be the mahdi. They are divided into two subgroups; the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.[21]

The Nation of Islam is a denomination in Islam primarily geared towards African Americans.

The Five-Percent Nation, a denomination predominantly consisting of African Americans, also known as Nation of Gods and Earths.